Interview with Author – Shawna Hunter

About Shawna Hunter:
I live in Ontario, Canada. BDSM is one of my major passions as are writing, photography, hiking and physical fitness. I love erotica but I've always felt the genre to be repetitive and stale. I wanted my own works to break from the pack and present something fresh. I want my characters to have a depth and uniqueness to them instead of being one note cliches. I write with these interests and goals in mind and hope that my readers will love the characters and stories I present as much as I do.

What inspires you to write?
Writing is a joy for me. Getting lost in the story and finding myself surprised by what I'm writing.

Tell us about your writing process.
I'm totally a seat-of-your-pants writer. I have a general story idea in mind when I start but I've no idea where it will take me. I often find myself as surprised by the twists and turns that my stories take as my readers are.

For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
I write in the first person so I don't so much talk to my characters as become them. I see the world through their eyes and interact with people as them. Which can be pretty trippy at times.

What advice would you give other writers?
Write. Everyone thinks about being an author but most get all up in their own heads with anxieties, doubts and plans they never see through. In the end, to succeed, all you have to do is start tapping the keys.

How did you decide how to publish your books?
My first story started out as a fetlife short but it got way too long. I posted a few excerpts on some groups dedicated to erotica and asked for advice on longer stories. Originally I thought to self-publish on Amazon but someone sent me a link to a site that listed open calls for submission. I took my shot and after months of rejections someone accepted my manuscript!

What do you think about the future of book publishing?
Different publishers tell me different things. One insists that audiobooks are the future, another says ebooks on multiple platforms, a third says Amazon will rule us all (obey). Personally? Nothing will beat the joy of walking through a bookstore and browsing titles. The smell of a real book, the weight in your hand, the surprise of finding a hidden gem. The future of publishing? We're in it.

What genres do you write?: Erotica, BDSM, Romance, LGBT

What formats are your books in?: eBook, Print, Both eBook and Print, Audiobook